Reviews by jxb345:

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Big thanks to Kevin for cracking this with me, now leaving only the Vanilla variant that I've yet to try. Cherry Rye is pitch black and doesn't seem to allow any light to pass through it; a deep, dark-tan head slowly forms with the pour. Fine-bubbled and well-defined, it recedes to a ring fairly quickly. No lacing is present, but the beer leaves some sticky alcohol legging along the glass when swirled around.

There isn't much of a surprise when I bring my nose to the beer and am pounded with nothing but barrel-notes; heavy oak, smooth and warm bourbon, and large traced of induced vanilla with a slight hint of coconut on the end. It's got that signature "Bourbon County" smell to it, except with the slight addition of cherry. Somewhat to my chagrin, the cherry isn't nearly as present on the aroma as I'd like. Surprising, given how potent Bramble was with the berries.

The underwhelming cherry on the nose leaves the aroma smelling not much different then a regular bottle of Bourbon County Brand Stout, which definitely isn't a bad aroma... but I came here for cherries, so why am I having such a hard time picking them up? They definitely peek out a bit more as this brew warms up, but they never really pop quite like I'd expect. Their subtle and almost nonexistent tart and sweet addition may seem masterful to some, but I want more.

One sip later, and some faith is restored in the brew, as the cherries are much, MUCH more apparent on the palate than they were in the aroma. It starts off with a light tartness, enough to jolt the taste buds but nowhere close to puckering; sweet cherries, sticky molasses, and handfuls of roasted malts are the base for this brew. The mouth feel, much like most of the Bourbon County series, is wonderfully silky, smooth, and borderline chewy.

After the initial tartness of the cherry, it fades into a soft sweetness that stretches out while the barrel-flavors make their way in. Heavy, smooth bourbon from the middle to the end with huge amounts of oak and wood. Big-time dark chocolate and fudge flavors leave this beer tasting like a dessert in and of itself. The cherry in the finish, although authentic, leaves a very slight medicinal and chalky taste/feel that gets a bit fatiguing after a while, though it's not too distracting from the rest of this brew.

Another good beer from Goose Island, although this is definitely my least favorite Bourbon County variant to date. The aroma didn't have enough cherries, and while the taste contained plenty, the flavor of them didn't mesh with 100% perfection like I was hoping for. Still very tasty, but be warned, this beer is very sweet - almost like a cherry fudge cake in liquid form. Eight ounces was enough to tackle on my own, twenty-two would be insane.

thanks Dan for opening this. growler from whole foods. Poured dark brown with a huge cherry scent. Flavor of cherry syrup, soy sauce and rye. very sticky palate. flavor bursts of cherry, even more in the growler than bottle. freakin delicious, my favorite of the variants

Pours the usual super thick opaque black color that is bourbon county. A brown colored head off the pour is very quick to fade to nothing. Some thick, viscous legs are noticeable from a swirl of the glass.

Boozey whiskey and some cherry aromas blend together, although the cherry isn't super noticeable at first. some molasses, Oaky barrel, caramel, charred roasted malt. Some tartness from the cherries. Becomes a bit solvent as it warms.

Cherries, caramel, gingerbread, cinnamon, charred roasted malts, whiskey barrel and whiskey booziness. Really nice. Some tartness from the cherries makes it seem a bit lighter. I'm not sure where this gingerbread/ cinnamon flavor is coming from, but it comes in just before the finish and really makes the beer, and then is followed by a nice cherry flavor.

Thick, viscous, heavy bodies with minimal carbonation.

A very nice take on the already amazing bcbs. Some very interesting flavors are a result. A must try.

Dark black motor oil pour with a small dark brown, though somewhat persistent head. This doesn't leave much in the way of lace, but at this high of an ABV, that really isn't too shocking. Near perfect for the style.

Still a sweet, rich, chocolate, and bourbon-forward aroma, but along with that comes a good amount of cherry pie filling, whipped cream, and just a slight element of sour cherry. It comes together very nicely. I was worried the aroma would be too fruit-forward actually, but this presents a lovely, appropriate balance.

As with the aroma, the base flavors of BCBS come through nicely. Unlike in Bramble, where I think the fruit and the sweetness is too dominant, this has achieved a very nice balance. Layers of chocolate, bourbon barrel, mild roast, and vanilla combine nicely with cherry pie and light graham flavors. Balanced and not too fruit-forward at all, though the fruit flavor is genuine, juicy, and just slightly tart. A nice balance with the chocolate.

Not quite as full in body as BCBS, but close. Low carbonation.

If BCBS and grandma's cherry pie had a love child, this would be the beer. Goose Island nailed it.